The Opening event of the 3rd Ghana Poetry Festival was a BIG BANG and a promise of success harvest, the venue Casa Hispanica auditorium at the University of Ghana, school of languages was filled to capacity and a little after then, the curtains on the CROSS-TONGUES POETRY NIGHT was raised by the Master of Ceremony of the evening, Chieff Moomen.

Rehearsals have been going on through the month of October and we couldnt wait to see the hilarious play about one woman's outlandish quest to succeed in the male dominated arena of politics. Written by one of Ghana’s foremost poet Chief Moomen in collaboration with UK Playwright, Diana Atuona. The play was commissioned by the British Council as part of global celebrations of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death... TO BE OR NOT TO BE

JIVE is a Spokenword, Music and Comedy show that happens quarterly at Duplex lounge, in the heart of the Capital City, Osu
October edition of the event was highly patronized as the line-up was great. There was poetry and that is our interest, Poets like Kweku Quansah, Asmah, Kingpee, Poetik Prince were all there to grace the occasion.

Poetry nights with the Rainmakers started of the OCTOBER CHRONICLE on the first Saturday of the month.

The underlying theme of the event was more centered on peace as Ghana prepares to go to the polls in December Poetry Nights with the Rainmakers is a platform where you can perform and hear performances of original and works that inspire and motivate.

As The WPM appeal to world’s poets, Artists, Writers and activists –“ In view of the seriousness of the world’s economic, political, social, and environmental situation, leading to danger of extermination due to the greed and obscurantist thought pushing the world towards barbarity and destruction –and, with it, the life, culture and beauty accrued by civilization throughout the history of humankind–...

TUNIS, ANSA - The fourth edition of the Sidi Bou Said International Poetry Festival opens in the seaside village near the capital on Friday. The three-day festival dedicated to poetry but also hosting other literary forms and music aims to become the most important event of its kind on the southern shore of the Mediterranean.

Dr. Rukmini Bhaya Nair arranged a meeting for Peace at the Indian Institute of Technology, one of our most prestigious educational institutes in the country. This was held on 21st Octobber. We had psychologists, activists like Harsh Mander, philosophy professors speaking on peace. Prof Nair and I read poetry. Rukmini Nair is one of our finest poets apart from being a well known academic. I briefed the audience about happenings in Colombia and of course talked of Medellin. Am almost tempted to attach a poem I wrote for the day.

I want to let you know that we did special poetry event on Wednesday 26 October, in my city "Damad" in Saudi Arabia.
During this day we did art exhibition and book signing. In the attachment, you will find some pictures of the event.

In view of the seriousness of the world’s economic, political, social, and environmental situation, leading to danger of extermination due to the greed and obscurantist thought pushing the world towards barbarity and destruction –and, with it, the life, culture and beauty accrued by civilization throughout the history of humankind–, the World Poetry Movement SUMMONS all the world’s poets, writers and artists, and men and women of good will, to a World Poetry Action against Nuclear War and for Peace on Earth.

Described as pop-up poetry, the event had writers put their unique talents on display producing custom poems from random words and phrases provided by passers-by, all at a breakneck pace, and using vintage typewriters.

“Each of these spontaneous poems offered a tiny window into the minds of Calgarians,” said Micheline Maylor, the city’s 2016-2018 poet laureate and English instructor at Mount Royal University.

We witnessed with fright and sadness to the criminal acts that have been occurred in Turkey during the unsuccessful putsch.
We are witnessing now with a great restlessness the human right violation under the state of emergency law.

We have been deeply concerning for the news about maltreatment, tortures, repressions ,restraints and massive dismissals under the state of emergency law in Turkey, comprising the areas of the art, culture and education.

The 20th Poetry Africa 2016 International Poetry Festival features participants from South Africa and around the world. The extensive week-long programme features performances, readings and book-launches from some of the world’s most diverse poets every evening at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre.

Guatemala, Aug 2 (Prensa Latina) The International Poetry Festival of Quetzaltenango (FIPQ, in Spanish), which begins today in Guatemala, will pay tribute to the more than 45,000 people who disappeared during the internal armed conflict that ravaged this Central American country for over three decades (1960-1996 ).

The festival will take place this Saturday and Sunday on Governors Island, a vibrant space for art and scenery that recently unveiled a 30-acre park with the longest slide in the city. Governors Island, home base for other sophisticated cultural events such as the Jazz Age Lawn Party, will welcome the event now for a 6th year.

This August, Queensland Poetry Festival will present their 20th event, with three days and four nights of poetry, spoken word, panels, film, performance, art installations, slam, comedy, and hip-hop. This year’s festival, Lost Language, Found, will have a particularly strong indigenous and first nation focus.

Brace your poetic sensibilities for the Bengaluru Poetry Festival organised by Atta Galatta on 6 and 7 August. It will feature an interesting mix of poetry recitations, music performances of works of legendary poets like Subramanya Bharati and Sant Kabir, discussions, workshops, and poets who write in English and regional languages.

On Monday the 18th of July 2016, Nigerian performance artist Jelili Atiku, poet Adeola Goloba and 4 others regained their freedom as the Ejigbo Magistrate Court struck out all criminal charges instituted against them by the Nigerian Police.

Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman summoned Army Radio commander Yiron Dekel for a reprimand July 20. The station had broadcast a program on the work of Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, as part of a series on formative Israeli texts. “It is obvious that this represents a failure and cannot go unchallenged,” said the defense minister’s spokesperson. He commented that this is a serious matter, as to this very day Darwish’s works add fuel to the fire of terrorism against the State of Israel.

The poet, who hit the headlines last year when he was jailed for posting a poem on Facebook about having a tattoo of a president on his penis, is hosting a poetry festival to hit back at his censors.

“I had the idea while I was in prison. The fact that I was imprisoned for my poetry showed that we have no freedom of art. I was thinking, ‘What can I do about it?’ and that’s when I had the idea to hold a poetry festival,” said Maung Saung Kha.

Caxito — The nucleus of Movimento Levarte in northern Bengo province will run a Poetry and Letter Festival (Fespol) from July 21-23 in Caxito.

The information was released Monday by the literary movement coordinator, Lourenço João.

According to the official, the purpose is to place poetry in the centre of attention, particularly the Angolan literature as the main instruments for a reflection on the environment of arts like dance, theatre, music and painting.

BENGALURU will get its first festival dedicated to poetry next month. The event will provide a platform to local and amateur poets to present their works alongside dignitaries that include Javed Akhtar, Piyush Mishra, Jayant Kaikini, Varun Gandhi, Sampurna Chattarji, Mamta Sagar, Manohar Shetty and CP Surendran. Called Bengaluru Poetry Festival, the fest will be held on August 6 and 7 at The Leela Palace on Old Airport Road.

Louise Linton’s memoir about her student gap year trip doing aid work in Africa recently provoked a large online backlash among many Zambians. The book had aroused a flood of online comments and reviews, which accused the author of being demeaning and inaccurate in her narrative. Many news online media captured the reaction to the memoir of her gap year in “darkest Africa” published earlier this year.

The 13th World Poetry Festival opened on Sunday evening in Caracas, Venezuela, on the scale and with a diversity of verse justifying its name. A large, attentive and appreciative audience gathered in the expansive Sala Rios Reyna Teatro Teresa Carreno for a programme which flowed seamlessly through opening and closing poetry by Venezuelans Juan Calzadilla and Tarek William Saab, respectively, with numerous nationalities in-between.

ZEBRA Poetry Film Festival: The biggest international festival for poetry films is moving from Berlin to Münster. For the very first time the Filmwerkstatt Münster, in cooperation with Literaturwerkstatt Berlin/Haus für Poesie, will host the ZEBRA Poetry Film Festival Münster|Berlin. The prizes are endowed together with 12.000 €. Eligible for submission are poetry films with a maximum length of 15 minutes that were finished after 1st of January 2013. From among the films submitted, a programme commission consisting of film and poetry experts is going to nominate the films for the festival and the competition. An international jury will choose the winning films, which will be shown from the 27th to the 30th of October 2016 at Schloßtheater (Münster, Westphalia) and afterwards at Literaturwerkstatt Berlin/Haus für Poesie.

A stellar gathering of top-brass poets and literary artistes is happening in Ghana, from the 17th – 22nd May, 2016, to celebrate the long-awaited Pentasi ‘B’ Festival of visual poetry, culture and creative arts.

The world-acclaimed friendship poetry festival features 25 award-winning, top caliber international poets, who will be joined by Special Guests of Honour; Hon. Abla Dzifa Gomashie (Deputy Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts), Hon. Dr. Abdul-Rashid Hassan Pelpuo (Minister of State at the Presidency), hundreds of home-grown poets and lovers of the art genre.

The General Conference of the AAWU opened inEl Gouna on the 4th of May 2016 in the presence of his Excellency H.E. Mr. Helmy EL Namnam, Minister of Culture as special representative of President Abdel Fattah El Sissi, as well as the Governor of the Red Sea Governorate, General Ahmed Abdallah.

In the opening session, the Secretary General, Mohamed Salmawy, welcomed the official dignitaries as well as the representatives of the members delegations from Africa and Asia. He explained that during the past 3 years since the Union was revived in 2012, the membership has reached 38 countries from both continents, which now makes AAWU the most important congregation of writers in both continents.

To many international observers, contemporary Pakistan is synonymous with political instability, poverty, and violent extremism — a reputation solidified by a March terror attack in Lahore that resulted in 70 deaths. But to Razi Ahmed, this perception of Pakistan is incomplete.

The 13th Thessaloniki International Book Fair is taking place at the Helexpo exhibition center (154 Egnatia) from May 12 to 15 with two special tributes, the first to Russian literature as part of the Year of Greek-Russian Friendship, and the second to refugee crises past and present.

This spring, the fifth session of International Poetry Reading in connection with the World Poetry Movement was attended by a group of contemporary Iranian poets, writers, thinkers, painters, musicians, and theatre and movies celebrities at the Institute for Cultural and Arts of Karname, at 5 o’clock in the afternoon of April 29th, 2016 – here in Tehran, Iran.

La Paz, Apr 25 (Prensa Latina) The third edition of the International Poetry Festival of Bolivia opens today with workshops and book presentations in the western department of Oruro.It will arrive in the capital tomorrow.

The event will take place until Saturday and will feature the participation of Bolivian authors as well as others like Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Peru and Spain.

The seventh edition of the Bucharest International Poetry Festival (FIPB) will bring more than 100 poets from 23 countries to Romania’s capital between May 18 and May 22. The festival’s program includes more than 20 events such as public lectures, roundtables, workshops, and performances, according to the National Museum of Romanian Literature, the event’s organizer.

Kritya, a literary trust from India joined the word poetry event “A Poem For Refugees” on 21 March 2016 along with WPM and all other important organizations of the world.
Kritya organized the event in the five cities of India, From North most to south with the support of our friends.

Dionysios Solomos was a refugee, Andreas Kalvos a refugee, C.P. Cavafy a refugee, George Seferis a refugee, Iliuas Venezis a refugee, Dido Sotiriou a refugee and Loxandra the hero of Maria Iordanidou also a refugee. So many of our writers an d poets, both in the past and now, had been refugees.

In Ankara on March 20 at the “Cultural Centre of Nazım Hikmet” 27 poets will participate in the activity which the main coordinator is Mr. Abdullah Nefes (poet, prose writer and distinguished civilian activist).

Very strong response it had appeal from World Poetry Movement, the Circle of Poets, PEN International to the March 21st global poetic action. We present here the names of some of the organizers, cities and countries where activities will be carried out:

The poet, art curator and Palestinian refugee Ashraf Fayadh, was sentenced to death by beheading, on November 17, 2015, by decision of the government of Saudi Arabia, due to the critical, political, social and religious content of some of his poems, included in his book Instructions Inside, identified as blasphemous and instigator of atheism.

Hundreds of Syrian and Afghan refugees are concentrated in Eleutherias Square (Freedom Square). A refugee has the right to asylum in conditions of safety. But there, in Freedom Square, small tents are raised every two meters, refugees sleep on cement, they fight over bread while their young children play with an old ball. In Sweden, rightwing followers burned an asylum down. Germans and Danes take their goods. Several borders have orders to shoot them. The European police states that there are 10,000 lost refugee children.refugiados duermen sobre cemento, se pelean por los panes mientras sus pequeños hijos juegan con un viejo balón.

The 2016 Kritya poetry festival is scheduled to be held on the 18th, 19th and 20th of February 2016. Kritya is once again welcoming poets of note from all over the world to her homeland Kerala to partake in this festival. There is a difference this time, though. We have decided on a floating venue for Kritya 2016; Kritya is going out to the people rather than asking them to come to her.

October peace: The World Poetry Movement has made a call for solidarity events to be held throughout the World during the month of October to promote peace on Earth and show solidarity with the victims of war.

On the 19th of October 2016 Gcinamasiko Arts and Heritage hosted World Poetry Movement Event at Dr Gcina Mhlophe's Peace Garden.

Dr Mhlophe is one of the executive members of the World Poetry represented in 53 countries. This is the action against War and and for Peace on the earth.

We had a few Poets which included Khulekani, Shaka, Mbali, Ntokozo, Khwezi and the Legend baba Madala Kunene blessed us with beautiful music, MC Nhla Dlamini-Ngcoya. Thanks to all our guests who came and enjoyed that meaningful evening with us.

The Republican Journal. The Belfast Poetry Festival and Belfast Free Library are pursuing their mission of community education and community engagement through poetry by offering a tribute reading of beloved Maine poets recently deceased...

International poetry festival will be held in the city of Chernivtsi on September 9-11. Guests from all over Europe arrive in Ukraine as the country prepares to hold a grand event, an international poetry festival, VII Meridian Czernowitz.

About 30 poets from Germany, Switzerland, the UK, Romania, Austria, Israel and Ukraine will present their best works in the city of Chernivtsi, Western Ukraine.

A group of 10 Indian poets will travel to Germany as part of an unique initiative 'Poets Translating Poets' as part of a two-year long literary project of Goethe-Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan, Mumbai, an official said here on Tuesday.

Gbenga Adesina is joint winner of the Brunel University African Poetry Prize. Adesina’s chapbook, “Painter of Water” was released in April. Here, he talks about why Diaspora African artists are as authentic as those in Africa, his win, writing style and more.

Launches of the new collection of poems by Macdara Woods, Music From The Big Tent, together with the latest from Paddy Bushe, On a Turning Wing, are among the many events that make up the annual Strokestown Poetry Festival which takes place over the May Bank Holiday Weekend.

Kritya International Poetry festival was held on the 18th, 19th and 20th of February 2016 at Trivandrum. Internationally recognized poets from different parts of the world, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Romania, Ireland, Italy, Estonia, and Turkey, attended the three days programme.

When Geoff Page noticed a new cafe named after his favourite poet in Manuka 22 years ago, he knew it was a sign.
He walked straight in and proposed a series of poetry readings to be held in the cramped, cheerful surrounds.

NEW YORK – A masterful blend of art and poetry braces readers within the pages of poet Adisa 'AJA' Andwele's new book of poems. Featuring 30 poems and images of paintings by 17 visual artists, "Painting Poetry